Income

Table 1 compares per capita personal income from 2005 to 2014 for the United States, New Mexico, the central region of New Mexico, and each of its four counties. Chart 1 compares over-the-year changes in per capita personal income for the same areas. All dollar estimates are in current dollars, which means they are not adjusted for inflation.

Per capita personal income in the central region grew by 4.1 percent over-the-year from $35,881 in 2013 to $37,345 in 2014, which was faster than the national average growth rate of 3.6 percent, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (Chart 1). In 2014, central New Mexico’s average income was 18.9 percent lower than the national average of $46,049.

Income changes in central New Mexico have been less volatile than nationwide averages. During the Great Recession from 2008 to 2009, per capita income declined by 2.7 percent in central New Mexico, while it declined by 4.2 percent nationally. Since the recession, from 2009 to 2014, income increased by 9.6 percent in central New Mexico and 16.9 percent nationally. In 2014, average income in Bernalillo County was $38,690, which was the highest of the four counties in the region and 16.0 percent below the national average. Per capita personal incomes in Sandoval, Torrance, and Valencia counties were below the state and national averages, at $36,088, $28,714, and $29,422, respectively.